Fallacies are logic gone wrong. On the surface they usually sound like logic, but upon close examination, the reasoning breaks down.

Sometimes fallacies seem "fishy," but it might be difficult to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with the argument. This is one reason it is important to learn to recognize fallacies.

For every appeal: logos, ethos, and pathos, there is a corresponding set of fallacies: logical, ethical, and emotional.

Be able to recognize these flaws in the logic of others, and avoiding using them yourself, in order to gain greater credibility as a writer.

Some common emotional fallacies:

Scare tactics. These fallacies manipulate (or at least try to manipulate) a reader into doing something because of some kind of threat. Don't confuse scare tactics with legitimate warnings.

Either-Or. This fallacy claims that an audience only has two options (usually forcing them to choose the "lesser of two evils"), when in actuality, there are more options available.

Slippery slope. This fallacy is all about assumptions. Slippery slope assumes that a decision today will (usually negatively) affect something unrelated (drastically) in the future.

Sentimental appeals. These fallacies are often found in the form of guilt trips. The audience is manipulated into submission due to a sense of guilt, or some type of bad feeling. Usually the audience is not at fault, and thus should not feel responsible.

Bandwagon appeals. These are arguably the most well-known of the emotional fallacies. Bandwagon appeals operate as peer pressure. The audience feels compelled to do or believe something just because they need to fit in with the "in-crowd."

A few common ethical fallacies:

False authority. This fallacy assumes that someone is qualified to have a professional opinion on the topic, when they really aren't. Celebrities are common false authorities. Also, people who hold unspecified degrees appear to have authority, but may in fact, hold degrees in other fields. Sometimes, the writer him/herself will even claim authority that proves to be false. Always check credentials before establishing authority!

Dogmatism. This fallacy assumes that the values of one particular group should be forced upon people outside the group, often society in general.

Ad Hominem. This fallacy, which means "to the man" in Latin attempts to discredit an opponent by attacking personal, unrelated flaws, rather than addressing the issue at hand. This works much like simple name-calling retaliation among children who cannot think of an actual rebuttal to their opponent.

Common logical fallacies:

Hasty generalization. Think of this as "jumping to conclusions." This fallacy occurs when someone makes a connection between a person or object and some type of trait, then stereotypes all members of similar groups or objects as having the same trait. This fallacy can lead to prejudices such as racism, sexism, etc.

Faulty causality. This fallacy attributes praise or blame to the wrong cause. Political leaders often get bad reputations because of faulty causality claims. Usually faulty causalities are the result of unfortunate coincidences or correlations that are unrelated to the cause and effect chain of events.

Circular reasoning. This fallacy restates the claim as its evidence, making an infinite loop. For instance, claiming that circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works isn't making a claim at all. Also, claiming that you can't get a B on an assignment because you are an A student similarly does not give any real reason why the grade of B could not be earned.

More logical fallacies:

Equivocation.